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Microsoft Files for Chat Bot Patent

This one kind of weirds me out, I won't lie...

Wednesday, January 27, 2021 by Tatiora | Discussion: Science & Tech

Not to get super heavy or anything, but let me ask you: have you ever wished for just one more conversation with a loved one who's passed on?

I think it's fairly safe to say that most people would answer yes to this question in some capacity - I know I sure would. I have said good-bye to many wonderful people in my life, and although when times get tough I can still hear them in my head and in my heart enough to imagine a pep talk from them, it's no substitute for having them here, in the flesh, sitting across the table from me.

I say all of this in order to set up a piece of news that I stumbled upon today that both piqued my curiosity and perplexed me greatly at the same time: Microsoft has been granted a patent that would allow them to make a chatbot using the personal information of deceased people.

Say what, now?

The patent, which you can read here, describes a bot that is based on the "images, voice data, social media posts, electronic messages," and other personal information. According to Microsoft, the person the chat bot represents may "correspond to a past or present entity (or a version thereof), such as a friend, a relative, an acquaintance, a celebrity, a fictional character, a historical figure, a random entity, etc." I don't know about you, but this seems like it could skirt into some really awkward and potentially uncomfortable or morally sketchy areas. 

The patent also suggests that the person the bot is emulating may "correspond to oneself," which means that you could potentially train a digital replacement in the event of your death. The notion of a 2D or 3D model of a specific person being generated via images and video data is also included in the patent.

The idea of being able to speak to a simulation of a person isn't new - the idea has been woven into the fabric of Science Fiction for years. Let's be frank: no technologically created entity is ever going to replace a person. Sure, maybe it might elicit some fond memories, but - it's still fake. It's almost like a simulation, but one that would be all too eerie for me, personally.

The technology also isn't really just science fiction anymore, either - there are some real world examples of this idea, from Kim Kardashian, who was gifted a 3-minute hologram of her late father, to the founder of the tech company Luca, who used 8,000 lines of text messages to create a chatbot that mimicked her late friend's way of speaking.

I can respect the technology and acknowledge how far science in the world of tech has come, but for me there's a line that I draw at a digital recreation of a loved one who is meant to converse with me. I could even see how something like this might be able to help certain people process their grief by finding the reminders of conversations past and the promise of new ones, however constructed.

I wonder what Microsoft, ultimately, aims to do with this idea. What about you? Does the idea of this technology excite or repulse you? Share your thoughts with me!

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Scientists Located and Destroyed an Asian Giant Hornet Nest Over the Weekend

While destroying them may seem extreme, the fate of honeybee populations is even more dire

Wednesday, October 28, 2020 by Tatiora | Discussion: Science & Tech


Image courtesy Washington Department of Agriculture via Twitter

2020 has been quite a year already, but a few months ago nature decided to throw another curveball and add invasive Asian giant hornets - AKA Murder Hornets - to the proverbial Bingo card.

Although we first heard about the hornets arriving in North America back in the winter of 2019, it has taken scientists some time to come up with strategies for how to locate and destroy the nests. Why all of the destruction, you ask? As it turns out, Asian giant hornets can be absolutely devastating for a honeybee colony, wiping out thousands of bees in the span of only a few hours.

Considering all of the threats that honeybee populations already face, it seems like a good idea to head this one off at the pass and deal with this invasive species swiftly and aggressively. That said, here's the good news: Entomologists in Washington destroyed the first nest of Asian giant hornets discovered in the U.S. just this past weekend.

Researchers located the nest by trapping a few live specimens and outfitting them with a radio tracker using, of all things, dental floss. Clad head to toe in protective gear (the Asian giant hornet's sting is said to feel like "red-hot thumbtacks" stabbing into you), the team worked to vacuum the hornets out of the tree and into canisters.

Image courtesy Washington Department of Agriculture via Twitter

The basket-ball sized nest was inside of a tree on private property, which the agriculture team has cut down in order to search for any newborn hornets and to see if any young queens might have already left the hive to start their own colonies.

Asian giant hornets are the largest known hornet on earth, with queens able to reach over 2-inches in size. Primarily, the insects survive on tree sap, but they also consume other colony-living insects like honey bees. The hornets actually decapitate their prey, and it only takes a small group of them to murder an entire hive of bees in a matter of hours. 

Scientists suspect that there may be more nests in the area and are working to locate and destroy them before the hornets reach their "slaughter phase" and go looking for any innocent beehives. 

Although most stinging insects set me into a panic (and these might straight up give me a heart attack), I love honey bees and am happy to see them protected. I find entomology fascinating, so following this entire saga has actually been a little bit fun, especially since it seems to be moving toward a happy ending for the bees. 

Have you been following the murder hornet saga? Share your thoughts with me.

 

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